What Are Ear Protectors?

Ear protectors ^[1] refer to personal protective equipment to protect human hearing from strong noise. If it is technically or economically difficult to take noise reduction measures, using ear protectors is the most economical and effective way.

Ear protectors refer to personal protective equipment that protects human hearing from strong noise. If reducing noise is technically or economically difficult, using ear protectors is the most economical and effective way. There are 3 types of earplugs, earmuffs and noise-resistant helmets ^[1]

Can be divided into three categories: earplugs, earmuffs and noise-proof helmets:

Earplugs: Can be inserted into the external ear canal or at the entrance of the external ear canal, suitable for noise environments below 115 decibels. It has two types: plastic and non-plastic. Plastic earplugs are made of wax-impregnated cotton yarn, soundproof glass wool, plasticine and other materials. The user is free to shape it and use it once or several times per piece. Non-plastic earplugs, also known as "universal earplugs", are made of plastic, rubber and other materials and come in a variety of sizes. China has made dozens of earplugs.

earmuffs: shaped like headphones, mounted on a bow rack to cover the ears to reduce noise. The noise attenuation of the earmuffs can reach 10 to 40 decibels, which is suitable for high noise environments, such as shipyards, processing workshops of metal structure factories, engine test benches, etc. In recent years, some countries have also fixed ear cups to welding masks or used them in combination with communication headsets or earphones. Earbuds and earcups can be used alone or in combination. Combined use can increase the amount of noise attenuation by 5 to 15 decibels compared to when used alone.

Anti-noise helmet: It can protect most of the head, such as adding earmuffs, the noise prevention effect is better. This helmet has the functions of anti-noise, anti-collision, anti-cold, anti-storm, anti-shock wave, etc. It is suitable for high-noise environments, such as high-noise, high-shock environments such as shooting ranges and tank cabins.

Of course, earplugs also have disadvantages. Because the earplugs are sealed with respect to the ears, this will cause the air in the ears to circulate, and it is easy to produce a relative temperature rise in the ears, which is not good for ear health. ^[1]

The evaluation of ear protectors is mainly measured from the aspects of sound attenuation, comfort, irritation, convenience and durability.

Sound attenuation: It is expressed by the difference in hearing threshold when wearing ear protectors and naked ears. The larger the difference, the better the performance of the ear protectors. Ear protectors can attenuate noise by 10 to 45 dB. There are two methods to measure the sound attenuation of ear protectors: the subjective test method (true ear method) and the objective test method (artificial ear method). The former is a psycho-physical method, which measures the difference in hearing threshold between wearing ear protectors and non-ear protectors in a free sound field. The latter is a method of physics, which tests the sound attenuation of ear protectors by using physical instruments instead of human subjective responses.

Comfort: It is the subjective response of people after wearing ear protectors. From the actual use of ear protectors, whether the ear protectors can be widely used is mainly whether they are comfortable after wearing.

Irritation, convenience and durability: Irritation refers to whether the ear protectors have an irritating effect on most people after wearing it for a period of time, and will not cause skin irritation. Convenience refers to whether the ear protector has a simple structure, is easy to wear, and has strong adaptability. Durability refers to the length of life of the ear protectors. It is better not to age or damage ^[2] .